Elena Maria Vidal (born 1962), the pen name of Mary-Eileen Russell, is a

historical novelist This page provides a list of novelists who have written historical novels. Countries named are where they ''worked'' for longer periods. Alternative names appear before the dates. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P ...

and noted

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

ger living in

Easton, Maryland Easton is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,945 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2019 of 16,671. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary ...

. She was born in

Florence, Oregon Florence is a coastal city in Lane County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It lies at the mouth of the Siuslaw River on the Pacific Ocean and about midway between Newport and Coos Bay along U.S. Route 101. As of the 2020 census, the city had a to ...

and grew up in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

. She is known for her defense of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

and

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...

by means of her novels ''Trianon'' and ''Madame Royale'', her Tea at Trianon blog, and her 2016 biography entitled ''Marie-Antoinette, Daughter of the Caesars''

Education

Vidal graduated in 1984 from

Hood College , motto_lang = la , mottoeng = With Heart and Mind and Hand , established = , type = Private college , religious_affiliation = United Church of Christ , endowment = $104.5 million (2020) , president = Andrea E. Chapd ...

with a BA in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, and in 1985 from the

State University of New York at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

with an MA in Modern

European History The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early ...

Publications

In 1997 Vidal's first historical novel ''Trianon'' was published by St. Michaels Press. The

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

tells of the life and death of

and

. In 2000, the sequel ''Madame Royale'' was published, as well as the second edition of ''Trianon'', by The Neumann Press. ''Madame Royale'' chronicles the life of Marie-Antoinette's daughter, Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte. In 2010, the third edition of ''Trianon'' and the second edition of ''Madame Royale'' were released. In November 2009, ''The Night's Dark Shade'' was published by Mayapple Books. The new historical novel deals with the controversial

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

in thirteenth century France. Vidal has been a contributor to Canticle Magazine,

Touchstone Magazine ''Touchstone'' is a bimonthly conservative ecumenical Christian publication of the Fellowship of St. James. It is subtitled ''A Journal of Mere Christianity'', which replaced ''A Journal of Ecumenical Orthodoxy''. ''Touchstone'' was started in ...

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...

, The National Observer and the Historical Novels Review. In May 2016 Vidal's biography of Marie-Antoinette was published. In November 2021 Vidal published the first volume of her "Henrietta of France" trilogy, entitled ''My Queen, My Love: A Novel of Henrietta Maria

She blogs at Tea at Trianon.

Career

In May 1984 Vidal was a student delegate at the

Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference The Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference (NAFAC) is an undergraduate foreign-affairs conference in the United States. NAFAC seeks to explore current, demanding issues from both a civilian and military perspective and thus to provide a forum ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. She has worked as an elementary school teacher and private tutor. In 2006, Vidal was interviewed by Doug Keck on the

EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network, more commonly known by its initials EWTN, is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic-themed programming. It is not only the largest Catholic television network in ...

Bookmark show. In April 2009 she was a speaker at the Eucharistic Convention in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. In August 2010 Vidal spoke at the Catholic Writers Conference in Valley Forge, PA. In October 2010 she was presented to Archduke Imre of Austria and to Prince Bertrand of Orleans-Braganza in York, PA. Vidal is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild and the Eastern Shore Writers Association. In 2011, Vidal interviewed David Chambers, the grandson of ex-Communist spy

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938), ...

, published in ''

'' (USA) and ''The National Observer'' (Australia). In August, 2011 Vidal became a reviewer for the Historical Novels Review, the journal of the

Historical Novel Society The Historical Novel Society (HNS) is a nonprofit international literary society devoted to promotion of and advocacy for the genre of historical fiction. Definition of historical fiction There are varying definitions as to what types of literature ...

Personal life and family

"Elena Maria Vidal" is a

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

chosen to honor her Spanish grandmother; Vidal's

legal name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of registration of the birth and which then ap ...

is Mary-Eileen Russell. She is the daughter of the late John Charles Laughland and of Alice Strong Laughland. Among her cousins are British journalist

John Laughland John Laughland (born 6 September 1963) is a British eurosceptic conservative author who writes on international affairs and political philosophy. He is the director of Forum for Democracy International. Career Laughland has a doctorate in phi ...

, Canadian novelist

Jennifer Lanthier Jennifer Deirdre Jane Lanthier (born February 29, 1964''Something About the Author'', Volume 204, December 2009, Gale Centage Publishing, p. 72.) is a Canadian children's author and journalist. Since August 2016 she has been the Director, U. of ...

, and Canadian poet Kateri Lanthier. Vidal's great-grandfather was the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

James Vint Laughland. She is also the cousin of actress and comedian Norma Jean. In 1986, Vidal joined the

Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites The Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites ( la, Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Saecularis; abbreviated OCDS), formerly the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel and of the Holy Mother Saint Teresa of Jes ...

. She briefly explored the

religious life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life (religious and se ...

by entering a

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

in the late 1980s. She has described a trip to

Lourdes, France Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...

in 1994 and a trip to Austria in 1995 as influencing her decision to write historical fiction. In November 1996, Vidal married businessman Michael J. Russell. She currently lives in Maryland with her family and has completed a historical novel called ''The Paradise Tree'' about her Irish ancestors which was published in October 2014 by Mayapple Books. ''The Paradise Tree'' has been listed by ''Kirkus Reviews'' as one of the top 20 indie books of 2014, and among the top 100 best books of the year, according to the December 2014 issue.http://teaattrianon.blogspot.com/2014/11/books-as-gifts.html

References

External links

Official Website of Elena Maria VidalTea at Trianon Blog - teaattrianon.blogspot.comCarmelite Blog - fountainofelias.blogspot.comTrianon Reviews Blog - trianonreviews.blogspot.comEWTN Interview of Elena Maria VidalTea at Trianon Forum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Elena Maria Roman Catholic writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American historical novelists American women novelists 1962 births Living people American Roman Catholics Hood College alumni University at Albany, SUNY alumni 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Women historical novelists People from Florence, Oregon